The Next NBA

2006-10-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

NBA LIVE 2007 Update: There is potentially a class suit against NBA Live 2007 for misrepresentation of product features in PC version. In the game CPU don't sub in bench players and CPU starters don’t get tire. This makes the game useless, as for 48 min. you will only be playing against CPU’s five starters. There have been thousands of complaints. Although EA has mentioned that they will release a patch in the future, it is still uncertain when and if EA will resolve this issue. Blogger please support this issue and post it on your blogs to shine more light on this issue. Thanks.

2006-09-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

NBA LIVE 2007 PC REVIEW: All I can say is this game suck! It's worse than Live 2006! The most annoying thing is that CPU don’t sub in any of their bench players! Ridiculous, how can LIVE make such a stupid mistakes! There are too many other complaints to make about this game so I won’t waste my time!

2006-09-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Chicago Bulls: No doubt, the Bulls will be the most anticipating team to watch this year. ESPN has been heaping about how good they are going to be but I just don't see it. When McGrady joined the Rockets, the media blasted all over the place about how the Rockets were the team to beat and how they’re going to destroy their division. We have yet to seem them make it pass the first round of the playoff and oh yeah, they also ended last in their division last season. Similar to the Rockets, the Bulls is a very inconsistent team. A lot of time, it’s not about the addition of players but the consistency of the team. Detroit is a well-established franchise and even without Wallace, they will still do better than the Bulls.

2006-02-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

All-Star 2006 Game: Well, what do you know? My prediction for L. James as MVP and the East winning could not have been more accurate. Maybe someone should start listening to the Next NBA instead of C. Barkley. Here is a quick recap of the game.

Most surprising
5. Free throw shooting was awful. I don’t have the stats but it must have been like 50% with one air-ball. Not naming who but it was a big guy from the East. Take a guess. Not that big guy, the other big guy.
4. The East came back with 17 pts down at half-time and won it with the defense of the 4 Pistons.
3. T. McGrady had a big game, scored about 34 points even though he’s depressed.
2. C. Bosh is no longer bald and P. Gasol has...a beard! Yeah, the last time I saw these two guys play was about 2 years ago. TNT and ESPN don’t broadcast either of these two teams.
1. Finally, those were some ugly uniforms. That surprised the hell out of me. What were they thinking!

Least surprising
5. Yao didn’t do much. He started the game but never gets to finish it.
4. The least turn over occurs when the four Pistons were in the game together.
3. Another high scoring game and again came down to the last minute.
2. C. Barkley being wrong again.
1. A lot of bad passes, a lot of turn overs, and a really poor ending to the game with a bad shot by McGrady and then a turn over by K. Brayant. Even the Rookie game was played better and more exciting. I guess that explains why the All-Star is broadcast through cable and no longer on national TV.

2006-02-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

Modifying the All-Star Week-End: For modifying the all-star game next season, what I would really like to see is a rebounding contest for the top rebounders in the league. We have a skills challenge for guards, 3 point shooting contest for shooters, dunk contest for dunkers but we need a rebounding contest for guys like R. Evens and J. Foster. The sports tend to not value abilities to box out and grad rebounds, as it is not highlighted as skills. This contest can change this perception as well give credits to guys who work their ass of each night fighting under the board.

2006-02-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

All-Star 2006: Sorry everyone, it’s been a long time since I posted. Been really busy lately. Started graduate school this year and I am also spending 20 hours a week working to get my license so I don’t have much time to blog anymore. I decided to start blogging again after reading End of the Bench. Check his blog out to get a recap on the All-Star Weekend. Man, it’s been so long, I had to look up the html on how to link to his site. It’s strange how easy you forget this stuff. But you got to do what you love or else life just isn’t as meaningful! That goes for you to McGrady. Keep playing basketball or else you would even be more depressed without the game and about 16 million dollars in your pocket.

For anyone who missed the All-Star weekend up this point, check out Nba.com All-Star’s recap videos. I checked it out just to see Nate jump over Spub Webb again. As for the All-Star game coming up in about 30 minutes, I would really like to see McGrady or Yao take home MVP. They are in Houston but the way Yao has been playing and how depressed McGrady is; it’s not going to happen. My prediction for MVP is L. James and as much as I like to see Yao do well, I think the East will win now that Shaq is on their side.

2005-01-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

CBS Sports top ten player rankings: 1) K. Garnett 2) L. James 3) D. Nowitzki 4) A. Iverson 5) T. McGrady 6) S. Marion 7) K. Bryant 8) T. Duncan 9) A. Stoudemire 10) D. Wade

All I got to say is, what about this guy?

No, not this guy-------> that guy

Yeap, that is S. Nash, 1996.

2005-01-14T13:04:00.000-08:00

Yao Ming, leading the All-Star in voting: Not only has his numbers got worse from the previous year, but his team is having an extremely hard time winning with him. His FG %, FT%, rebounding, blocking, and assist dropped. He is also turning the ball over more than 3 times per game, the only category he seems to be leading all Centers in. Even though his performance is decreasing, his popularity just seems to keep rising as he leads all NBA players in all-star voting, for the third season. It is astonishing to see a guy at 7 “6” do the things he does, but it is only so long before questioning if we all are over exaggerating his talents and possibly his potential. Even L. James and A. Stoudemire are playing beyond their expectations.

2005-01-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Cuttino Mobley traded for Doug Christi: I guess Peja is getting what he wants. Looks like he will be traded, now that they found a 3 point shooter to replace him. The only question is where and who, especially now that Artest is no longer an option. I would love to see Peja get traded for Ginobili. They both have identical salary and they are exactly what the other teams need. Spurs are very good defensively and can use a shooter like Peja. Ginobili is like Christi and Peja combined, O.K. like Christi and Mobley combined but everyone knows Ginobili got skills. Lets make it happen!

2004-12-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

Kareem Rush has been traded to the Bobcats for a future round pick: So far he is putting up good numbers. Can’t wait to see what he does when he is place in the starting line-up.

Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPGPPG
With Bobcats..............447 .308 .667 1.00 3.70 4.70 1.7 1.33 .67 14.0
WIth Lakers...............362 .261 .750 .40 1.10 1.40 .5 .35 .18 3.2

2004-11-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

Self-Defense or Just Beating the Crap out of the Fans: I am so tired of hearing all this bo shit about R. Artest, J. O’neal, and S. Jackson just defending themselves. After B. Wallace tried to choke Artist, it was stated that Artest was “resting peacefully on the bench.” What a bunch of crap, yes Artest was lying down, but he was lying down like the little cocky bitch that he is! Rubbing it in the face of all Detroit players and fans. How can it be self-defense? A fan threw a cup of water at him and he goes up into the crowd and tries to beat the crap out of him. Beating someone up for throwing water at you is not self-defense! Also S. Jackson threw the first punch out of all the punches. And then another fan comes into the court and then Artest automatically punched him. Then O’neal comes and punched the crap out of him too. If you watch the highlights closely, you can tell in one of the scenes that one security cop took out a pepper spring and was ready to spray Artest, trying to defend the fans. The security cop obviously felt that the fans were the one in danger. The NBA organization fucked up this time by trying to cover-up for the stupid and tempering behaviors of R. Artest, S. Jackson, and J. O’neal. From my personal perspective, it was never self-defense. The players were never in the situation where they were in danger. Fans hitting the players result in much greater consequences than players hitting the fans. The players always had the power and they instigated everything by continuously punching the crap out of the fans. Artest should be suspended for the rest of the season! His behaviors displayed that he has no intention of playing this year and he is consciously trying to start shit to promote his album. Suspend the fucker and let him work on his album. I understand that these players are worth millions and the NBA needs to protect them but from what I saw, they need no protections when they were the one doing most of the punching.

2004-09-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

Richmond rejoins Warriors?: When Nba.com posted that Richmond rejoins Warriors, I thought he was coming back as a player. I was hoping to see Richmond booming out 3's again. Oh well, special assistant will have to do. What is special assistant anyway? I thought they got Laettner for that. Is he going to teach Dunleavy how to shoot 3’s and teach Richardson how to play some D.

2004-08-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Houston signs Bob Sura and Charlie Ward: Now these are good guards. I like Houston more and more. The only question now is who's going to start. If it were up to me, I would start Sura. He played great at the end of last season. He adds a lot of energy. C. Ward is a 3 point specialized and no point of starting him when you already got Jackson and McGrady who are already great 3 point shooters. Plus, you don't want to be shooting 3's. Drop it down to Y. Ming. Out of the 3s, Lue is probably the most ideal point guard but he hasn't proven much since he left Washington.

2004-08-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Men’s Olympic basketball schedule: The quarterfinals will be shown on Aug. 26th, Semifinals on the 27th and the Finals on the 28th. The way we've been playing, I don't think we will make it to the Finals. Like I said before lack of shooters are going to hurt us and it has. NBA teams better start hiring these internatonal players. Dam, they are good!

2004-08-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Dirk’s 3-pointer to tie the game vs Iverson half court shot that won the game: Iverson might have made the last buzzer shot to win the game but that was nothing compared to Dirk’s 3-point shot that tied the game. What made Dirk’s shot so impressive was that every one knew Germany was going to give him the ball and yet U.S. wasn’t able to stop him. They even had two guys guarding him. As for Iverson’s shot, it was nothing but pure luck (Sorry Tim, I know you’re a big 76ers fan). Dirk pretty much destroyed U.S. on his own, scoring 32 pts (that’s almost half of what each team scored) and it was nothing less than talent. In the last two games that I’ve seen, I am losing hope in U.S. The way we’re playing we don’t deserve any less lucky buzzer hitter.

2004-07-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

K. Kittles exchanged to Clippers for second rounder and cash: Ok, now I’m really confused with what the Nets and the Clippers are doing. If the Nets were going to get rid of Kittles, why didn’t they resign K. Martin? What is going on here? Are the Nets just trying to get rid of all of their players? Yeap, that is 3 questions in a roll because I just don’t get it anymore.

Well, this is what Clippers and Nets could have had

Clippers..........................Nets
C: Okafor........................C: K. Martin
PF: E. Brand..................PF: S. Rahim
SF: C. Maggette.............SF: R. Jefferson
SG: K. Bryant................G: L. Harris
PG: M. Jaric...................PG: J. Kidd

Instead they got this.

Clippers..........................Nets
C: C. Kaman...................C: J. Collins
PF: E. Brand..................PF: A. Williams
SF: C. Maggette.............SF: R. Jefferson
SG: K. Kittles.................G: L. Harris
PG: M. Jaric...................PG: J. Kidd

2004-07-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

NBA takes away Sura's triple-double: I know this is old but I just ran into it again and I just thought it was hilarious.

"The NBA took away Bob Sura's third straight triple-double Tuesday, ruling he shouldn't get credit for one rebound because he intentionally missed a shot just before the buzzer. Sura thought he was the first NBA player since Grant Hill in 1997 to have three straight games with double figures in scoring, rebounding and assists. But the NBA said his tactics in Monday night's 129-107 win over New Jersey violated the rule that states, "A field goal attempt is a player's attempt to shoot the ball into the basket for a field goal."

Since Sura wasn't trying to make the shot, the NBA said, he shouldn't get credit for a field goal attempted. Therefore, there was no rebound.
The journeyman guard had 22 points and 11 assists when he intentionally missed a layup just before the buzzer so he could get his 10th rebound.
"Actually, the ball slipped," Sura said, laughing and not making any pretense at being serious. "All the guys on the team were screaming at me to do it. It was kind of a reaction thing. I just did it."
His intentional miss rekindled memories of Ricky Davis' blatant attempt to pad his stats last season.

Davis, then with Cleveland, was roundly criticized when he tried to finish off his first career triple-double by shooting at the wrong basket, missing and getting the rebound. Before it could happen, a Utah player wrapped his arms around Davis and was called for a foul. Davis was fined by the Cavaliers, and the league pointed out a rule barring players from trying to score for the other team. At least Sura was shooting at his own basket when he missed, but the NBA said it didn't matter.

Sura picked up the first triple-double of his eight-year career on Friday, when he put up 12 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds at Chicago. The following night, he had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Boston."
-Paul Newberry, AP Sports Writer

2004-07-30T10:11:00.003-07:00

Hassell to Portland: I agree that Hassell is a vital key to Minnesota’s defense. Without him things will probably get really messy. In saying so, Hassell is only a defensive player and he better pray that the Wolves match Portland’s offer. Defensive players are only useful on teams that have chemistry and are loaded offensively. Being on a team like Portland where they’re struggling with both, it’s going to be hard for him to find his position. Which means, he won't probably start unless Miles signs with a different team and Portland absolutely has no other option. Or they find a way to score with him in the line-up. He's a specialist and being on a team like Portland is like M. Curry in Toronto. Staying in Minnesota is like Bowen with the Spurs. Plus, why would Hassell want to leave Minnesota and the M.V.P. K. Garnett? K. Garnett can bring you a ring and we all know Portland is not going anywhere for awhile. Portland was already messed up; adding Exel makes them even more messed up. What is Hassell smoking? Doesn’t he know that Portland is the place where dreams die? Just look at Stoudamire, Anderson, Pippen, and Rahim. In the long run, he would probably make more money if he didn't take Portland's offer and just stick with a lesser contract in Minnesota because his value would stay more consistant and his carreer would be much longer.

2004-07-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

The US Olympic team is finally complete:

C: T. Duncan
PF: A. Stoudemire
SF: S. Marion
SG: A. Iverson
PG: S. Marbury
C: C. Boozer
PF: E. Okafor
SF: C. Anthony
SG: L. James
PG: D. Wade
SF: R. Jefferson
PF: L. Odom
Coach: Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich

Strength: We got size and toughness. Boozer, Okafor, and most of these players are muscle players so we should be able to push everyone else around. Scoring: not a problem at all. The majority of the players are 20+ ppg so we are loaded offensivly. Rebounding: we should be able to win on the board easily. Every player averaged 4+ RPG. Defense: Very good defenders, teams are going to have a hard time scoring against us.
Weakness: 3-point shooting. S. Marion seems to be our best 3-point shooter and that is just sad. Passing: We have no true point guard on the team. Experience: It’s the first time for most of these player so let’s not be too confident. Remember what happen the last two trips. Overall, I expect nothing less than gold but I don’t know. I think the lack of shooters might hurt us.

2004-07-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Nba Live 2005: I was going to post about Live 2005 but the post ended up being so long that I've decided to just create an additional blog for it. I know I will be posting future things about the game when it actually comes out so I figure I'll just post it there instead of here to save space. Check it out at NBA Live 2005.

2004-07-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Shaq is full of crap and Kidd, I got your back man: The other night I saw Shaq promise Miami that he will bring them a ring. I have never heard so much bull shit before. Am I the only one who is tire of hearing Shaq talk all this crap? “Shaq is the mack, I am the daddy and the diesel” and whatever. I think Shaq has lost it. He is starting to refer to him in third person again. Come on Shaq, you’re in denial. You’re in Miami; you’re no longer in L.A. Start dealing with reality and just stop talking so much shit. We all know you’re not going to bring a ring to Miami! Everyone is getting on Kobe’s back but at least when he was asked if he will win with the roster that he has, he respond, “I don’t know. The West is tough. I don’t’ know if we can win.” A honest response by a man who is unsure of what honesty is.

I understand where J. Kidd is coming from. Last season, when he was a free agent, he had the option of signing with the dominate Spurs and playing along side Duncan. He turned it down because he wanted to help build New Jersey. This year, they let go of K. Martin. What a kick in the face. There goes J. Kidd’s dream. I feel for you Kidd. If you want to leave, you got my blessing man.

2004-07-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

My main man Greg Ostertag is in, K. Malone is out: People said, the only thing Ostertag is good for is to be dunk by Shaq, but what’s up now, Shaq? Looks like he’s going to win a ring before you will again! Just incase anyone is interested, you can buy Ostertag’s final Utah jerseys at Star Pulse. :)

So this means that Divac is definitely going to L.A. I actually like Divac in L.A. I think he is going to do well there. Statistic shows the Lakers are now slightly above the Heat.

The Lakers were hoping that K. Malone would return but signing Divac pretty much means that K. Malone is no longer an option. Dallas are also interested in K. Malone. He would be a good fit since they lost Jamison and plan on trading Walker. Come on Cuban make this happen!

2004-07-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

Reality Basketball: There is Last Comedy Standing, Next Action Heros, American Idols, but why isn’t there a reality T.V. show about basketball? Travel around the United States…oh and Canada too, allowing people to come and showcase their skills. Bring the one that is good to Hollywood and have contests, like 3-point shoot-out, one-on-one, 5-on-5, slam-dunk contest and let viewers choose who they think should move on. Then whoever is the winner wins the right to be in the next draft. Man, I can already see the drama, the lost dreams, and the family in tears when the person gets drafted at draft night. Hell, maybe even David Stern and the rest of the fans might stay for the 2nd round just to see if this guy gets pick. But whoever the winner is, I bet he's going to be drafted higher. That would be one draft night! There has got to be someone out there who is dam good at basketball but hasn't got the chance. Maybe the person can’t afford to go to college, is living in isolated bad neighborhoods, or just never thought much about playing professionally?

The other day, I went to the park to shoot some hoops. This Arabian guy came over and asked if he could shoot with me. He didn’t really ask me. I wasn’t sure if he spoke any English. He just clapped his hand like he wanted me to pass him the ball so I did. I grew up playing basketball, I play high school, I was the captain of my team, even got chosen to go play for the city in which we went around completing in tournaments. We never took less than 2nd place. So I got game. O.K. back to the Arabian guy. We decided to play one-on-one. I figure it would be an easy match. First to 21 wins. I took it easy on him because I was like, “Arabian people don’t play basketball. Who has ever seen an Arabian person play basketball before?” False stereotype! The first game he beat me 21-19. Man, he was good; this skinny dude was kicking my butt in a sport that I played all my life. I was making 75% of my shots but he was making like 90% and he only spent 5 min. warming up. I think he missed like two shots only. We played another game in which I play much harder and beat him 21-0. I made six 3’s in a roll. Then the third game I again beat him 21-15. Even though I won 2/3 of the matches, he surprised me. He didn’t look like a basketball player at all and yet he had mad skills. The only reason I beat him was because I was coached and he wasn’t. What I am trying to say is that there are people out there who got games and no one knows about it. Come on Mark Cuban, make this reality basketball happen!

2004-07-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

Cuban or not Cuban?: I’ve decided to add Blog Maverick to my blog list. At first I was reluctant about it. While I was taking my college course on blogs, my professor encounter the site. We had a huge debate on weather the blog was actually written by M. Cuban himself. My professor concluded that it was. His main argument was that Mark knows a lot about technologies and having his own blog allow him the opportunity to voice his opinions and not have to worry about it being edited through television. By the comments left on the site, it seems everyone else think it is actually him too. However, I don’t think Mark actually writes the material. I don’t think someone else is falsely trying to be him either. I bet he’s paying someone else to do it for him. Besides my intuitions, owning a blog takes a lot of your time. Some of the posts are long and extensive. I don’t see him having that much free time to invest into a blog. Also, I noticed that none of his posts are credited as written by him. Check out the Nba blog squad, every post is credited, eg. posted by Doc River, Jay Williams, etc. But I guess people can believe what they want to believe. I’m still going to read his blog, I’m just not reading it as though it's actually him.

2004-07-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Utah Jazz, a racist team?: Everyone knows Utah is conservative. J. Sloan said before that he refused to start anyone who is under 21. But this morning, I was pondering if Utah is in fact a racist organization. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the Jazz. They were my favorite team until K. Malone and J. Stockton left.

1) Last season, they were probably the only team that can potentially start all white players. C. Arroyo, G. Giricek, A. Kirilenko, T. Gugliotta, and G. Ostertag.

2) In the past 10 years, they had more white players on their roster than blacks. Right now 8/15 of their players are white. That’s unheard of in the NBA.

3) For the past 10 or so years, the majority of the starters were white. Eg. J. Stockton, J. Hornacek, B. Russell, K. Malone, G. Ostertag.

4) They kept Ostertag for 9 years, 9 years!

5) They refused to start R. Bell instead of Giricek even though Bell was having his best season ever. They even started Pavlovic over Bell even though he was playing out of position!

6) 5/6 of the coaching staff are white, J. Sloan, P. Johnson, G. Chiesa, M. McKown, G. Briggs, and finally the lone man, T. Corbin. He’s just there because of affirmative actions.

7) Utah favor drafting white players first, 2001 R. Lopez, 2002 they drafted two black players, R. Humphrey and J. Sampson only because they were rights traded to Orlando and Memphis, 2003 A. Kirilenko, and 2004 K. Humphries who people have said is a racist person.

8) Finally if Okur was black, would they even think about offering him $50/6?

2004-07-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Okur: What the hell was the Jazz thinking when they offered Okur $50/6. I can understand Boozer’s $68/6 because the potential is there but Okur? S. Swift would even be a better move. Of course the Pistons have no intention of matching Utah’s offer. No one is going to match an offer like that. Well, good-by Ostertag and welcome to Utah, Okur. I’m actually going to miss Ostertag if Utah don’t resign him. He was funny to watch. He took a lot of shit from Utah. Everyone said he wasn’t worth the money and K. Malone called him the laziest player he ever played with. Talk about lazy, Okur doesn’t even run when he plays. He just walks around like he’s all clam and cool and when the person he’s guarding takes a shot, he’s all surprised and tries to reach for a block, while thinking “man, I’m not guarding you but why the hell you got to shoot it?” I don’t mean to diss Okur but for $50/6, you better be able to handle all the heat if you don’t know how to run? It's a good thing, K. Malone is no longer there.

2004-07-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

What are the Knicks doing!: I’m officially declaring the Knicks as the stupidest franchise in the NBA! Even more stupid than the Clippers! Last season they signed K. Thomas to a new contract and a very fair one too. Ever since then, they’ve been trying to trade him. K. Thomas contract is only 5 mil.! What do they want to do? They want to trade him for Illauskas whose contract is 14.6 mil.! The Knicks would also have to throw in another center to meet salary cap which is likely to be Mutombo who is getting 4 mil. They were also thinking about trading K. Thomas for J. Crawford or A. Walker. Why do you even want Crawford when you already got a 14.6 mil. Marbury? Crawford averged 17 ppg. last season, he is not going to be happy coming off the bench. I’m not even going to talk about Walker. There is a reason why all these teams want K. Thomas. The Knicks are stupid and they are trading the wrong Thomas. If anyone, T. Thomas 12.9 mil. is the one that needs to go.

2004-07-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Gary Payton wants out of Lakers too: GP wants a contract buyout if the Lakers trade O’neal. Finally someone doing something smart! I don’t even know why GP resigned with the Lakers. He can get a better contract else where. There are other teams out there who are desperately looking for a good PG. Just look at S. Nash’s new contract. Gary is still the best defensive PG the NBA has and I expect him to get pick up fast if his buyout does go through.

Note: Just added Doc Rivers to my blog list because he agrees with me on GP.

I may be in the minority on this one, but I have no doubt that Gary Payton is still a fantastic player. It's a great example of a guy who's played a certain way his whole career and has had offenses designed to fit around him and then go to a different system that he's not the focal point, how difficult that adjustment is.

I hear people say Payton is done, he can't play any more. I'm in the minority, I disagree. I think Gary Payton, you put him on another team -- like the Pistons -- where the point guard handles the ball, he could play. But the focal points with the Lakers are in a different place and for Payton it's been very difficult and that's what you see.

2004-07-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ginobili resigns with the Spurs: Manu Ginobili is possibly the toughest SG next to AI and the best driver in the league today. He doesn’t expect a lot of money and he is going to be worth every penny. He is a Kobe without the legal problem and well, without the fade away too. Positive is that he can create his own shots and a good defender. Negative is that he tends to turn the ball over and sometime plays out of control. Surprised! Spurs offered him $50-55 mil. for six year. I was sure he was heading over to Denver. Orlando offered Turkoglu $39 mil. and then the Spurs offer Ginobili $50-55 mil. Come on Spurs, make up your mind! Who is going to start, who do you want, Turkoglu or GInobili?

2004-07-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

Boozer a Jazz?: Utah is just spending money like it is Christmas over there. Man, they must be so so so so so so so overjoyed and so dam relieve to be done with Ostertag and Gugliotta’s contracts. If the Cavs let Boozer go, well they pretty much can’t afford to let him go. But dam, they can’t afford to keep him either. They can try matching Utah’s offer but it seems the Cav’s got a bad poker hand here. No matter how much they put in, the Jazz are just going to bid higher. I figure they were going to try to get Boozer. A hard worker and stands for everything that Utah is. K. Martin’s got too much attitude and Utah is too conservative to sign Kobe. What about Ginobili, what’s wrong with Ginobili?

2004-07-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Bryant or Ginobili: Denver is trying to sign either Ginobili or Bryant. So far they seem to favor Bryant over Ginobili. It seems Spurs are not making much attempts to resign Ginobili either. I am assuming it is because they are also thinking about signing Bryant. I don’t think Bryant wants to go to Denver. He still wants to win so I think he will sign with the Spurs. Spurs have the salary to sign him and Duncan is the type of unselfish player that can make room for Bryant. Ginobili will probably end up in Denver. J. Barry is a free agent and they’re not going to resign him and Denver will eventually come to an agreement with Ginobili once they know that Bryant is not interested. But we will see, you never know what's going happen anymore.

2004-07-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

Shaq or Dirk: When it comes down to it, it won’t just be Shaq or Dirk. It will be Shaq or Dirk and Walker. Dallas does not want Walker anymore. It would be nice to get rid of Walker’s contract but since Jamison is gone, I would stick with Dirk and go with Walker for another year and then either waive him or sign him to a lower contract. Knowing Dallas and the many trades that they have done in the past, I won't be suprise if they do trade for Shaq. Not because it's a better trade but Cuban just likes to have new toys now and then.

2004-07-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

S. Nash is moving to Phoenix: Phoenix agreed to pay S. Nash 13 mil. a season. I am not sure if Nash is worth that much. This is more than twice of what S. Nash was getting in Dallas and more than what S. Marion is getting now. The Suns must be very desperate to fill the PG position left by Marbury. Now maybe S. Nash will have enough money to get a hair cut. They are also very weak at the C position but Okur seems to be the only decent C free agents out there. At least this shows that Cuban is keeping his words when he said that D. Harris will be the future PG in Dallas. It is about time that Dallas got someone who can play some defense.

2004-07-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

I am back: I plan to post regularly but I will see how things get. Also changed the bg to one of the new ones tha blogger offers. I kind of like the blueness to it.

2004-05-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

My Final Post: Some of you know that I created this blog as a requirement for my undergraduate weblog class. The next two-weeks are final exams for me so this is probably my final post. I really enjoy having a blog. Owning a blog open up a whole world that I never knew existed. It was nice to meet a lot of you and to read and get involve with your blogs as well. Tim Kraus, I really enjoy reading your blog and appreciate your participation on mine. I know you haven't updated anything in a week or so but I hope you keep up with your blog because you offer some really good insights. As for the Raptor Blog, no need to say anything. Scott, you got a nice and professional blog. I also enjoy participating in your blog and I appreciate your participation on mine as well. I have a long educational journey ahead of me and I am not sure if I can find the time to keep an updated blog. I strongly do not believe in having a blog unless it is updated on a regular basis. But do not worry, I will drop in on your blogs periodically to leave a comment and give you a piece of my mind. :) If I do find some free time in the future or if I realize that I cannot live with my NEXT NBA blog, then do not be surprise if you see me updating posts again. :) Have fun and enjoy the rest of the Nba play-off.

2004-04-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Basketball look a likes:

S. Nash & T. Cruise
S. Francis & Puff Daddy
J. Kidd & Vin Diesel
R. Davis & Snoop Dogg
C. Mihm & Apprentice guy
L. Odom & MICHAEL DUNCAN
S. Anderson & D. Martine, "All of Us" W. Smith's tv show
W. Green & Mike Tyson
K.V. Horn & Matthew Lillard, 13 ghost guy

More to come...

2004-04-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Artest vs Bowen: Nba.com stated that, "Indiana forward Ron Artest challenged Bruce Bowen to a game of one-on-one for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award Tuesday, one day after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich criticized Artest and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle."

I don't see how this will reveal who is the better defensive player because the winner at the end is the one that scored more points. However, I got my money on Artest just because he'll talk so much trash that Bowen will get really pist and quit.

2004-04-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Lakers destroyed the Rockets last night and my basketball season is officially over: This doesn't mean I won't watch the rest of the season but I no longer have any team to cheer for since the Jazz didn't even make the play-off. I am a little disappointed at the way Houston lost. I didn't think they had a chance but I thought they would have fought harder to stay alive. I don't want to put blames on particular players but lets just say last night, Yao and Kobe were the two best players on the Lakers team. Although stats showed that Yao only had 3 TO, I swear I counted 7 in the first 8 min. Also, I don't agree with what Kobe did off the court. Rape or no rape, he definitely committed adultery (I'm a little confuse about this because his wife is way hotter but that's another post for another time) but I am impress with what he does on the court, 31 pts., 10 ast., 6 reb., 3 stl. I am not a big fan of the Lakers but got to give props to where props is due and after what happened last night, Kobe is officially #1 on my best NBA player list, surpassing Garnett. I know I'm not the only one that is disappointed at the lost; Katelyn Kristine must be pretty pist too.

2004-04-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Expansion draft for the Charlotte Bobcats: Does anyone know how it works? I read a couple of sources but most of them were unsure about it too.

2004-04-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Kirilenko got gypped again: K. Garnett made all Nba-Defensive First Team when he received last vote than Kirilenko for denfensive player of the year?

Andrei Kirilenko, 67 points
Kevin Garnett, 36 points

2004-04-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nba.com has advertisements?: While I was checking out the nba awards winners on Nba.com, I noticed that they had a banner advertising the new movie Van Helsing. This is odd because this is the first time I've noticed Nba.com advertising something that is not related to basketball.

2004-04-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

Hopeless Dreams: Is it just me or are the commercials about the NBA players wanted to be with the Championship trophy really stupid? 3/4 of those players have a very slim chance of wining it this year anyway. I wonder if those players actually know that they are not going to win or do they go into every games thinking, we got a chance? I mean does M. Redd, P. Pierce, L. Odom, C. Anthony, and so on actually think they got a chance?

2004-04-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

K. Garnett wins M.V.P: Based on the voting for the All NBA First Team, there is a 99.9% chance that K. Garnett will definitely win M.V.P.

Position: Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward: Tim Duncan, San Antonio (114) 597
Forward: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota (123) 615
Center: Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers (95) 556
Guard: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (111) 582
Guard: Jason Kidd, New Jersey (55) 421

2004-04-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Still got faith in Dallas and New Orleans: Even though Dallas are down 0-2, I still think they will come back and win the series. Nowitzki is the only one playing well so it's only a matter of time before Walker, Finley, Nash, and Jamison breaks out. As for Miami, I still don't think they're for real. Maybe it's been so long that I just can't and don't want to believe it. Nuggets, Grizzlies, Rockets, Celtics, Knicks, and even Bucks, it is pretty much over.

2004-04-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Gmail: Well, I officially have a gmail account. It turns out google are allowing active members of blooger.com to create a gmail account. It still seems like not everyone can get an account yet. It has 1,000MB, Yahoo only has 4MB, that is huge. I created a gmail for my blog but I also wanted to create one for personal usage but it won't let me. I guess they're still limiting accounts. I should have created a personal one first before the user name I want is taken. If you want one and you're an active member of blogger.com, all you got to do is log into blooger and you will see a banner that ask if you want to create a gmail. Enjoy!

2004-04-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

03-04 Defensive Player results

Player.....................Team ....1st ..2nd ..3rd ..Pts
Ron Artest, ..........Indiana ....80 ..20 ....16 ....476
Ben Wallace, .........Detroit ....26 ..61 ....12 ....325
Theo Ratliff, ........Portland ....8 ....10 ....20 ....90
Bruce Bowen, San Antonio ..4 ....10 ....26 ....76
Andrei Kirilenko, .......Utah .....2 ...12 ....21 .....67

K. So I'm really pist with this result too. Not so much that Artest won but man, Kirilenko only got 67 points! Are you kidding me!! If Kirilenko won, he would have been only the 2nd white player to ever win the defensive player award. Mark Eaton, also a Jazz is the only white player to have ever won it; year 84-85 and 88-89.

2004-04-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Anthony got gypped!

Player .........FG% 3P% FT Reb Apg Spg Bpg To. Pf... Ppg.
L. James ....417 .290 .754 5.50 5.9 1.65 .73 3.46 1.90 20.9
C. Anthony .426 .322 .777 6.10 2.8 1.18 .50 3.01 2.70 21.0

Lebron was named Rookie of the year! Come on people look at the stats. Besides the fact that Anthony's team also has a better record, Denver is finally in the play-off in a very competitive west. The main reason that Lebron won is probably because people in general expected less from him. A lot of people expected him to struggle during his first year and he surpassed their expectations. As for Anthony, people didn't expect him to struggle as much so his achievement doesn't seem as high even though his numbers and his first season are better than Lebron's. Anthony got gypped based on expectations!

2004-04-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

Dwight Howard's goal to change the NBA logo: Dwight Howard, an 18 year old high school who has been projected as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft wants to change the NBA logo with a cross affixed over the heart of Jerry West's silhouette. All I can say, is he crazy! I'm a Christian myself and I applaud him for wanting to spread the word of God but he is just Dwight Howard. Disregarding the fact that the NBA is very diverse and potentially offending many people, until he proves himself as a basketball player and as a person, he has no right to even encourage something as extreme as this. Theare is no way he is ready for the NBA or even the world if his thinking is still this young. Go to college and get some experience kid!

2004-04-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

2004 rankings:

1. Massachusetts
2. Florida
3. Utah
4. Oklahoma
5. Arizona

Nope, these are not my 2004 NCAA rankings. For one post, I'm not going to talk about basketball. Check it out for yourself.

2004-04-13T11:42:00.001-07:00

WWF and NBA: Someone over at Eightball Magazine claims that the NBA sucks because it's like WWF (now known as WWE).

I am drawing a comparison between the WWF and the NBA because I think the NBA and professional wrestling have a lot in common. Well for one, the referees in both sports have a terrible habit of looking the other way when the bad guy is doing an illegal move. If you have seen the NBA lately you know that what they don't call is more comical than what they do call. The end results are about as fixed as a wrestling match as well. Fixed in the sense that when you give someone a ticket to do whatever they want on the court to insure that they stay in the game while everyone else on the court can get ejected I say the games are fixed. The NBA learned from the NFL that you protect the star player. The longer he stays in the game the longer they will watch. That is why Quarterbacks are treated like such pussies.

Jordan played 12 seasons and never fouled out a game to my recollection. You couldn't even give him a dirty look without a foul being called and I am pretty damn sure I have seen Phil Jackson pass Jordan a foreign object from his shorts ever now and then.

It's kind of funny because most of it is actually true.

2004-04-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

Manute Bol: Fox wrote, "When Bol entered the league in 1985, he was the league's tallest player ever. At 7-foot-7, he was a dominating shot blocker. In his rookie season, Bol blocked 397 shots, a league record that still stands."

Wow! That's about 100 more than Theo and 150 more than Big Ben. I did not know that! Very impressive Manute!!

2004-04-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

It is over for the Jazz: Denver beat the Kings 89-97 while Utah lost to Minnesota 90-104. There goes the Jazz and their play-off. The Jazz played much better than most people thought they would this season, but it is still disappointing that they could not hold off at the end. I was really hoping that the Jazz would take the 8th seat and the Lakers would take the 1st seat, so we would be able to see K. Malone go against his old team but it is not going to happen.

2004-04-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Players that need to call it quite: Some players just can't play like they use to anymore. They are having negative affects on their teams and they should really think about retiring.

1. S. Pippen; He had a great run with the Bulls but he is nowhere close to what he use to be. He missed a lot of games with Portland and almost missed the entire season with the Bulls. He should really think about joining Michael because he won't be able to do much for any team anymore. The Bulls are expecting way too much from him, in which he can't deliver.

2. R. Fox; He said that he plans to retire after this season. I totally support his decision. He is having a horrible year. He came off his injury and he pretty much sucks right now. He is nowhere playing as good as D. George when George was starting. The only reason why he is not #1 is because he is a role player and not expected to carry the team as much as Pippen.

3. G. Hill; The same as A. Morning, he has been on the injury list way too long. Orlando is paying him 13 mil. this season and will increase another mil. next season. This doesn't leave much room for them to sign anyone else. Even if Hill comes back, he won't be able to play to his fullest potential. Orlando better make good use of their draft pick.

4. A. Morning; He missed the entire season last year. Pretty much missed the entire season this year. This is the greatest disappointment for the Nets. Although they are only paying him about 5 mil., they gave up a lot of money to get rid of Mutombo as an exchange for him. I don't see him coming back any time soon and he should really think about calling it quite and clear some salary cap for the Nets to sign K. Martin after next season.

5. R. Miller; Although he is a starter, his minutes are less than Harrington. Harrington beats him in pts., reb., and stl. He still shoots pretty well from the 3 pt. line but his offensive contribution has decreased tremendously. He really should think about retiring and make room for Harrington or at least play off the bench.

6. V. Divac; He can still play for an old guy. The only problem with him is that he has the second highest contract on his team making about 12 mil. a year. That is twice what Stojakovic is making and only 2 mil. less than Webber. With B. Miller, they no longer need him and can make good use of his salary.

2004-03-24T22:11:00.000-08:00

Offense VS Defense: Who would win?

Defensive team..............Offensive team
C: B. Wallace..................Z. Randolph
F: A. Kirilenko..................D. Nowitzki
F: R. Artest.....................P. Stojakovic
G: M. Ginobili...................M. Redd
G: D. Armstrong.............S. Nash

2004-03-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

Should international players like Dirk, Peja, Ginobili, Yao and Kirilenko: be encouraged, asked, and maybe even pressure to play for US in the Olympic? After all, US are the ones spending millions of dollars in training and shaping them to become the great players that they are. There is a good chance that we will never see any of these players suit up for the US. I for one won't mind seeing Yao or any of these other players dress in red, white, and blue and play competitively against their native countries.

2004-03-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

2004 Olympic Roster
PG- J. Kidd, M. Bibby
G- K. Bryant (questionable), R. Alley, A. Iverson
SF- T. McGrady, K. Garnett (questionable)
F- T. Duncan, K. Malone (questionable)
C- S. O'neal (questionable), J. O'neal

K. Malone will probably not go because of health issues, Bryant because of legal issues, S. O'neal and K. Garnett are still thinking because they rather just be sitting at home doing nothing. If Garnett gets M.V.P. and he doesn't go, I will be very disappointed. The lack of motivation for NBA players to go to the Olympic has been very disappointed over the years, especially when the competition overseas are so much better now. During the 2002, USA took 6th, how sad. C. Webber and Z. Randolph were not invited because of legal problems in the last few months. B. Wallace and B. Miller are the main candidates to replace S. O'neal and K. Garnett if they decide not to go. Other players that were not considered are B. Davis and R. Artist which can add range and defense.

2004-03-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

G. Hill: is no longer returning this year. Although G. Hill was one of the best point forward to ever play the game, he has been sidelined for so long that must of us have probably forgotten what he can do or if he can still do it anymore. 02-03, he only averaged 14.5 pts., grabbed 7 reb. and dash out about 4 ast. per game for a total of 29 games. Although those numbers are't horrible, it's nothing compared to his 25-point averaged in Detroit before he was injure. If anyone remember his last return, it was nothing more than a struggle to get back into basketball shape. Whenever he returns, Magics will definitely be happy to see him. They've been struggling all year with their SG position. G. Hill's return probably will not do much to Magic's win column but maybe we will see McGrady broadcast more on National TV. (post edited 3/11/04)

2004-03-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

D. Rodman & I. Rider:, David DuPree, USA TODAY's NBA guru said, "I don't think Dennis Rodman has much of a chance of getting picked up. What can he do? He's a poor man's Ben Wallace, a very poor man, at that. He'd be a distraction and I just can't see what value he would bring to a team other than as a gimmick. Isaiah Rider is out of the league because he can't play any longer and I think he has as much chance of getting picked up as Rodman does."

Do you agree, are they physically not able to play anymore or is it more like what Rodman said about the NBA not giving him a contract to rub it in his face, to get back at him. He also said that he is good at what he does (rebouding, playing defense ). Rider said that if he gets a chance the coach is going to have to worry about him taking away the starting SG spot. Can these two guys still do what they once were very good at? Are there teams out there that really should sign them?

2004-02-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

The Playoff: Now that we are 3/4 into the season, what are the 16 teams that you think will be in the playoff and why?

2004-02-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Detriot, #1?: Now that Detriot traded for R. Wallace and M. James, are they the best team from the East?

2004-02-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

My BackupTeam: If you can create a new team with only backup players, who would be your starters, your coach (only unsigned coach), and which city (location)?

2004-02-17T10:52:00.001-08:00

Give your predictions in the post. The person who first made the right prediction will have their names posted under "Got Skills" on the right side bar and will be there until next season so vote quickly before your team, player is taken. Good luck!

Got NBA Skills Challenge

Top of the West: Prediction for Western Conference Final

2004-02-17T10:51:00.001-08:00

Top of the World: Prediction for Nba Championship Team

2004-02-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Top of the East: Prediction for Eastern Conference Final

2004-02-17T10:50:00.001-08:00

6th Man Award: Prediction for 6th Man Award Winner

2004-02-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

Defensive Player: Prediction for Defensive Player Award Winner

2004-02-17T10:49:00.001-08:00

Coach of the Year: Prediction for Coach of the Year

2004-02-17T10:49:00.000-08:00

Rookie of the Year: Prediction for Rookie of the Year

2004-01-29T18:03:00.001-08:00

M.V.P. Award: Prediction for M.V.P. Player

2004-01-27T22:39:00.001-08:00

What is with the Clippers?: Even if Kobe signs with the Clippers next year, are they ever going to get better? Remember last season they had E. Brand, C. Maggette, Lamar Odom, A. Miller, M. Olowokandi, and Q. Richardson. Is Kobe better than Odom, Miller and Olowokandi combined?

2004-01-27T22:34:00.000-08:00

All-Star Deservers: Which player won't be at the All-Star but should be?

2004-01-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Steve Nash: not scoring much but dishing out a lot, positive or negative?

2004-01-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

Another J. O'neal: Portland has to be kicking themselves really hard for trading Jermaine O neal, Milwaukee Bucks lost both Dirk Nowitzki and Ronal Murray! What other players out there do you feel has the talent and can be a super star but is just not given the chance?

2004-01-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Good, the Bad: Which player has surprised you the most since last year and which has disappointed you the most?